When I go to the Children's Library on Mondays, I am always looking out for good stories to read aloud to the Under Fives Storytime group. Some books work well read out loud to a group, while others - though just as good as stories - are better for quieter sessions or for reading at home.
My choice today has a black cover, which can immediately put people off. Books are expected to have white, light, colourful pages and bright covers. This one doesn't. Thoughout, though there are dark pages, others are white, or red or yellow or pale blue, the colour balanced with the play of the story.
The central character is a greenish-yellow monster, and the book has a direct attitude: the solo monster character starts by boasting, and then asking questions. He insists he wants to know if the reader is a monster too.
ARE YOU OR ARE YOU NOT? Do you have a long, pointy tail? No? Do you have long pointy nails? No? Show me your BIG YELLOW EYES . . . No?
Obviously the reader has not, so suddenly, cleverly, midway through the text, the monster calls the story to an end. 'OK. I'M DONE. YOU ARE NOT A MONSTERY. You can close this book now. THE END BYE-BYE.
Then, in case the reader is upset by the sudden ending, the Monster checks again.
Show me your teeth again. A HUGE mouth. Interesting! Can you make a LOUD noise like GRRR or ROARRR? Can you walk like a monster STOMPING HARD ? Can you?
Of course, the Storytime group can join in and do, with encouragement. Can you now do all three together? I love the traditional cumulative framework there behind this telling!
The Monster is, at first, delighted to have found such another scary monster in the reader . . . except that now, the Monster suddenly starts to feel a bit scared of such excellent scary monsters itself . . . and eventually the real ending to the story arrives.
Which I will leave you to find out for yourself.
Although the reader needs to put a bit of ooomph into the reading, and allow
time for joining in, the story itself moves along swiftly and amusingly. Karsten has created a book that is great fun, beautifully structured, and that uses language in an interesting way: one that I'd enjoy using over and over again. For small family books sharing as well as for 'louder' readings.
Additionally, after enjoying this book myself, I found, while searching for images, that it was also the BookTrust Storytime Book of the Year 2024. Well done, Guilherme Karsten!
Penny Dolan
ARE YOU A MONSTER? was published in 2023 by Happy Yak, an imprintof the Quarto Group. Guilherme Karsten is both the author and illustrator.
1 comment:
I can imagine that book being hugely enjoyed when performed with, as you say, 'oomph'!
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